Apocalypse Now canceled on Kickstarter

Apocalypse Now game Kickstarter canceled as fundraising shifts to website

The much anticipated Apocalypse Now video game has been canceled on Kickstarter, the developers will begin crowdfunding on their own website. According to the developers, “The new platform will serve as a rallying point for the community and represents the team’s long-term commitment to both funding the project and sharing details of the development process.”

The campaign was originally launched on January 25th seeking $900,000 to fund the remaining game development. The game has been described as an “immersive, psychedelic horror RPG,” team behind are industry vets having worked on series like Gears of War and Fallout. It even has the blessing of director Francis Ford Coppola. “I’ve been watching video games grow into a meaningful way to tell stories,” he said when the campaign was first announced, “and I’m excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation.”

Unfortunately, the game only raised $170,000 and the developers noted the campaign’s troubles in a message to backers:

When we launched this campaign, we made a mistake. We forgot that many of you have been disappointed by overreaching games and overreaching promises. We had stopped paying attention to the Kickstarter world, when we put our heads down and went to work on this full-steam about 18 months ago — first with documents and then with prototypes. Because we went upriver, we did not remember that those of you who love games and those of you who love Apocalypse Now would immediately treat the announcement not with excitement, but with concern.

The $900,000 goal represented about one-fifth of the actual development costs. The team had originally planned to launch an ongoing crowdfunding campaign after the Kickstarter with the goal of raising the full amount over a longer period of time. “The Apocalypse Now team plans to raise $5 million to produce an authentic game that the people want to play,” game director Montgomery Markland said in a statement. The game is expected to be released in 2020.